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On Mon, 9 May 1994, Prime Rat wrote:

> >
> >Interesting....it seems the blood-pooling hypothesis isn't getting a lot
> >of support.  Anybody got any ideas why some folks start out with strong
> >narcosis then acclimate, while others experience gradually increasing
> >narcosis throughout the dive?
> >
> >
> 
> Well, what IS inert gas narcosis?  I mean at the level of how it is 
> affecting brain function?  What for that matter is anaesthesia?  Are 
> anaesthesia and inert gas narcosis similar/the same?
> 

I think we are probably in agreement that the "phenomenon" referred to by
all of the diving books as "nitrogen narcosis" is really a conglomeration
of many different processes with very complex relationships, and highly
dependant on a wide array of variables.  I think "nitrogen narcosis" is
somewhat a misnomer, as is "inert gas narcosis".  Perhaps the best moniker
is Cousteau's "Rapture of the Deep", or, as our acronym-happy technical diving
community would likely prefer: "ROTeD" (as in "My brain is ROTeD")....


Aloha,

Rich

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